President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 response and vaccinations on Tuesday in the State Dining Room of the White House. Patrick Semansky/AP
The Federal government will be mailing 500 million at-home COVID test kits starting in January. The action was announced as part of an update on the pandemic by President Joe Biden Tuesday.
NPR reports Biden defended his administration’s performance in dealing with the fast-spreading variant against criticism the White House had not acted quickly enough. The administration’s response, Biden said “was not a failure,” and he asserted that “I don’t think anybody anticipated it would spread as rapidly as it did.”
The president also sought to reassure Americans that despite the latest wave of the virus, the nation is better off than it was in March 2020.
Biden also said he was “considering” reversing the travel ban he imposed on South Africa and other southern African nations after the omicron variant began spreading.
He said that the ability to fight off the omicron variant largely rests now on people getting vaccinated and he blasted those spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines on social media and cable TV.
Biden said people can safely celebrate the holidays with family and friends, as long as everyone has been vaccinated. And he said those who have not gotten boosters and are eligible should do so.
No new restrictions on schools or businesses were announced, but the President defended his mandate that large employers require workers to get vaccinated or tested, or face dismissal.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul thanked Biden in a statement, saying, “I’m grateful that he is responding to our requests for additional personnel to support our hospitals and health systems, including the deployment of 30 ambulances with staff to Upstate areas; new mass testing sites, including the first one to be operational in New York City before Christmas; and rapid tests sent directly to Americans in their homes.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency also will be deploying planning officials to assess needs across the country and preposition supplies like masks, gloves and ventilators.
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